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Moldovan, World Bank officials assess Competitiveness Enhancement Project’s results

10:58 13.06.2013

Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar held a meeting with the World Bank expert on the development of the private sector, Melissa Rekas, on 12 June. The officials assessed the results of the Competitiveness Enhancement Project and its impact on beneficiaries. The sides have also discussed the launch of a new project financed by the World Bank, which would be meant to boost up the competitiveness of the Moldovan economy.

According to the Economics Ministry’s information and media communication service, the Competitiveness Enhancement Project was implemented during 2005-2012 and backed the reform of the Moldovan quality infrastructure. During the project, several laboratories had been endowed with modern equipment, whereas experts carried out a string of legislative documents on the capital market. In this context, a Credit Information Bureau had been created in Moldova. The project also facilitated the implementation of a regulatory reform, including the analysis of the regulation impact on the business environment, which had became compulsory for all the public authorities since 2008.

The project also allocated funds worth 22.5 million dollars in order to finance exports and back 460 enterprises in this sense. The programme as well reimbursed 50 per cent of the total costs incurred by small and medium enterprises for the implementation of quality standards, elaboration of business plans and feasibility studies.

«The Competitiveness Enhancement Project has exceeded our expectations, whereas the new project should have even more ambitious goals,» Lazar said. Experts responsible for the implementation of the Competitiveness Enhancement Project have also enforced a project meant to back Moldova’s capital market. However, Lazar said it had been the only sector to have lower results than expected.

«The Moldovan capital market is still in its early stage; therefore, it cannot offer Moldovan citizens and the real economy sector enough financial management tools. In spite of Moldova’s sufficient number of funds, the narrow variety of efficient financial tools channels all the money into bank deposits, compared to other countries, where investors are offered a wider choice of investment options,» Lazar said. In this context, the Moldovan economics minister requested that the next World Bank competitiveness project includes actions meant to boost up the appearance of investment funds, private pension funds and other investment tools, which could channel the citizens’ savings into the real economy sector.

The Competitiveness Enhancement Project II will have three main components and will thus base on the consolidation of the regulatory reform capacities, access to funds and consolidation of the Moldovan enterprises’ competitiveness abilities. The project is expected to face the challenges enumerated in the World Bank’s “Policy priorities for private sector development” study, as the customs management, fiscal management, business regulation, competitiveness framework and the access to funds are the main constraints restricting the development of the Moldovan business.

Adapted from Moldpres